By Lauren Taylor (Anchor), Roey Hadar (Producer), Harry Fogle (Video Editor)
President Joe Biden may commute the sentences of most or all of the 40 men on death row, according to a Wall Street Journal report. If Biden commutes the sentences, the men would stay in jail on life sentences without the possibility of parole.
It would create an early hurdle for President-elect Donald Trump. He wants to resume federal executions and expand the use of the federal death penalty.
Attorney General Merrick Garland halted federal executions in 2021, during the early months of the Biden administration.
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The Journal reports Garland is one of several key voices in the White House’s death penalty debate. They said the attorney general recommended Biden commute most sentences, except for a handful of cases involving terrorism and hate crimes.
Three possible exceptions include Dzokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings; Robert Bowers, convicted of the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting; and Dylann Roof, convicted of the 2015 shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Biden is weighing the move amid pressure from civil rights groups and religious leaders. Pope Francis prayed for commutations for Americans on death row in his weekly address earlier this month.
Biden, a devout Catholic, spoke with Francis on Thursday, Dec. 20, and will head to the Vatican next month before leaving office.
The move would override Justice Department prosecutors under both Democratic and Republican presidents who asked for death sentences.
DOJ prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the perpetrator of the 2022 shooting at Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y.
Republicans condemned the prospect of Biden commuting most or all federal death sentences. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., warned the move would weaken the government’s condemnation of harsh offenses.
“It would mean that society’s most forceful condemnation of white supremacy and antisemitism must give way to legal mumbo jumbo,” McConnell said. “The irony of claims of systemic racism causing the president to spare Dylann Roof is ludicrous, ludicrous to the point of tragedy.”
It’s unclear whether any of Biden’s commutations would affect the four inmates on the military’s death row.
The move would also not affect any death sentences in states that use the death penalty for state-level crimes.
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LAUREN TAYLOR: President Joe Biden may soon take the highly consequential – and controversial – step of commuting the sentences of most – and possibly all – the 40 men on death row… according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
If Biden commutes the sentences, the 40 men, all convicted for murder, would still be held in jail on life sentences with no possibility of parole.
It would create an early hurdle for President-elect Donald Trump, who wants to resume federal executions and expand the use of the federal death penalty to include migrants who kill U.S. citizens, child rapists and people convicted of drug or human trafficking.
Attorney General Merrick Garland halted federal executions in 2021, in the early months of the Biden administration.
The Journal reports Garland is one of several key voices in the death penalty debate in the White House, and that the attorney general recommended Biden commute most sentences, except for a handful of terrorism and hate-crime related cases.
Three possible exceptions whose sentences Biden may *not* commute are Dzokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Robert Bowers, convicted of the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and Dylann Roof, convicted of the 2015 shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Biden is weighing the move amid pressure from civil rights groups and religious leaders, includinh Pope Francis.
The pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church prayed for the commutation of the sentences of the Americans on death row in his weekly address earlier this month.
President Biden, a devout Catholic, spoke with Francis Thursday and will head to the Vatican next month before leaving office.
The move would override the decisions of Justice Department prosecutors under both Democratic and Republican presidents to ask for death sentences.
The Justice Department is currently seeking the death penalty for the shooter convicted in state court for the 2022 shooting at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Republicans condemned the prospect of Biden commuting most or all federal death sentences, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warning the move would weaken the government’s condemnation of some of the worst offenses possible.
Sen. Mitch McConnell / (R)-KY – Senate Minority Leader: “It would mean that society’s most forceful condemnation of white supremacy and antisemitism must give way to legal mumbo jumbo. The irony of claims of systemic racism causing the president to spare Dylann Roof is ludicrous, ludicrous to the point of tragedy.”
LAUREN TAYLOR: It’s unclear whether any commutations by President Biden would affect the four inmates on death row in the military’s court system.
The move would also not affect any death sentences in states that use the death penalty for state-level crimes.
For Straight Arrow News, I’m Lauren Taylor.
And for all the latest updates on this and other top stories, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit SAN.com.
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